The Role of Attention in the Realization of Sensory Perception from the Perspective of Mulla Sadra's Transcendental Wisdom

The present article, adopting a comparative descriptive-analytical method, deals with the role of "attention" in sensory perception from Molla Sadra's point of view. Mulla Sadra has presented various interpretations of sensory perception. In all these interpretations, the role of attention as a fundamental characteristic of the soul is undeniable. This role expresses the active feature of the soul in sensory perception and other processes, which is based on Mulla Sadra’s specific principles underlying his view of the soul and its divine nature. Mulla Sadra's theory of attention can be explained using two bases: a) the theory of multiplicity of powers of the soul and b) the theory of the unity of powers and belief in the levels of the soul. According to the perspective of the powers of the soul which is closer to the peripatetic views, attention acts as a kind of limiting filter and a bottleneck in the process of perception and abstraction, which prevents a lot of data from moving across the stages. Based on the levels of the soul, and the specific principles of Sadra's wisdom, the soul uses the source of attention for its specific actions according to its power. In this explanation, attention is like a source of light that reflects on things sometimes involuntarily and sometimes voluntarily through the will of the soul to make them clear and presentable to the soul. The model of attention presented by Mulla Sadra has similarities with and differences from the latest models proposed by psychologists. The main advantage of this model is that it highlights attention in all in- human processes.